


Light in a Dark Room

by ShutUpandPull



Category: Castle
Genre: Caskett, Engagement, F/M, Post-Season 5, dc, follow-up piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 07:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6461302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShutUpandPull/pseuds/ShutUpandPull
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A follow up to Science, Interrupted: Kate and Martha share a few quiet moments on the evening of Rick and Kate's engagement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Light in a Dark Room

The unexpected sound that emanated from a nearby room didn’t wake Kate. That would’ve meant she’d actually been able to fall asleep, which she hadn’t. Rick had drifted off hours ago, the end result of their intense and most gratifying private celebration, and the soft hint of his breath soothed her as she now stared blankly at the clock. She wanted nothing more than to follow him into the dreamland responsible for the beauty of his slumbering face, but her brain simply wouldn’t cooperate.

Their engagement was just hours old and their subsequent embarrassing encounter with Martha gone but not entirely forgotten. Caught half-dressed on the sofa with her fiancé wasn’t exactly how Kate had envisioned sharing her nuptial news when the time came. Martha had fun with it, though - there was that - and Rick had spent the next several hours doing his best to make everyone and everything else in the world disappear, at which he ‘d succeeded admirably. But in the quiet aftermath, as she traced the line of the new ornament that encircled her finger, she couldn’t stop thinking.

Kate rolled towards him, having decided any attempt at sleep was futile, and brushed her lips across his bicep before delicately extricating herself from the sheet snaked around her body. His robe hung from the back of the bathroom door and she wrapped herself in it, the scent of him weaved into its cashmere from wear. Her eyelids fell closed as she took it in, her mind inundated with olfactory-triggered memories of his body beneath hers, and in that moment she realized just how difficult it was all going to be.

**xxxx**

Martha stood in dim light at the kitchen counter, her back to the open room, unaware of fact she was no longer alone. Kate watched quietly and listened with a grin as the redhead grumbled in frustration at her tea bag’s apparent insubordination. “Is everything all right, Martha?” Kate called out in heavy whisper as she approached.

Martha spun with a jump at the unexpected intrusion. “Oh, Katherine, darling, you scared me.” She could feel her elevated heartbeat pounding in her chest as she leaned back against the firm edge of the marble countertop. “What in God’s name are you doing up at this hour? Oh, I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, Martha, you didn’t,” Kate insisted, pulling out a stool to sit. “I thought I heard a noise out here somewhere. It’s hard to turn off the cop ears, you know? But I was still awake.” Her voice softened, noticeably so, as she began to spin the ring around her finger once more.

“Kate?” Martha said a second time, her first effort swallowed by the silence of the night around them. 

“I’m--I’m sorry, what?” Kate sputtered, her future mother-in-law now standing at her side.

“Come,” Martha beckoned. “Come over here and keep me company on the sofa, dear girl.” She took Kate’s hand and spun her out of the stool and over onto the cushions with a flourish. Even at 3 AM, Martha was entirely Martha. “Something’s wrong, kiddo. I can see it written all over that gorgeous face of yours. Speaking of which,” she interrupted herself, “how you manage to look so gorgeous at this hour defies all logic. But, I digress,” she sighed with reverence. “Is it Richard? Did he do something…or _not_ do something – again?”

Kate chuckled both at the delivery and the assumption. “No, it’s nothing like that. In fact, and please forgive me for what happened earlier and for not saying so then, your son made me incredibly happy today, happier than I’ve ever been.” She looked down at her left hand. “I love him so much, Martha, and I’m just--”

“Just what, darling?” she prodded, the uncertainty in Kate’s pause palpable.

“We’re starting this whole new chapter together - this commitment, this engagement - and here I am getting ready to leave in a few days. I just want to be sure I’m doing the right thing.”

Martha smiled widely at her. In all the awkwardness and brevity of their earlier exchange, there’d been no opportunity to talk about the job in DC or the fact that Kate had accepted it. “Good for you, Katherine.  Good for you,” she said, taking Kate’s hand with a supportive squeeze. “Oh, I couldn’t be more proud if you were my own daughter. They’re damn lucky to have you.”

Kate could feel the emotion rising in her throat. “That’s very sweet, Martha, thank you. That means a lot.”  

“Look, darling,” Martha began in a gentle, maternal tone, “you better than most people understand just how unpredictable life can be, that anything can change from one moment to the next and that there are no guarantees. You’ve seen more bad than anyone ever should and you’ve done more good than you’ll ever give yourself credit for. You’re going to make a difference in a lot of people’s lives down there.  Everything you’ve been through has led you to this very place.” She brought her free hand to Kate’s face to wipe away the tear that had dropped to her cheek. “And that man in there, Katherine - my son - has never loved anyone or anything as much as he loves you, with the exception of Alexis, of course. You two will make this thing work, _together_. Got it?”

“Got it,” Kate replied in an exhale filled with appreciation and relief. “Thank you, Martha, for listening. If my mom were here, she’d be so grateful that I have you and your support in my life.”

“Support for what?” Rick interjected with a yawn as his knuckles rubbed the fog from his awake-at-an-ungodly-hour eyes.

Neither Kate nor Martha had heard him coming, which shocked them both. In his current state, how he’d managed to make it from the bedroom to the sofa without knocking anything over or falling on his face was beyond their comprehension. 

“Nice hair, Castle,” Kate teased, her spirits audibly lifted.

“Yes, darling, that’s a great look for you. Katherine’s a lucky, lucky woman.”

Rick reached up to flatten it out but to no avail. “Okay, are the girls quite through making fun of the late guest to the pajama party?” He moved in behind Kate and rested his hands on her shoulders, eased her head back against him. “So, are we making prank phone calls and talking about boys?”

“It’s frightening how well you know us, Richard.” Martha shook her head and pushed herself up from the sofa. “Go on back to bed, you two. I’m going to reheat my tea and retire, once again, to my boudoir.” 

Kate stood and Martha pulled her close for a hug. “Go claim everything you’ve earned, kiddo,” she whispered before kissing her son on the cheek and turning for the kitchen.

Kate slid her hand down the length of Rick’s arm until her hand came to rest in his. “Come on, Mr. Castle,” she encouraged with a tug, “let’s go back to bed. That hair of yours is really only suitable for dark rooms.”

“Ha, yes, very funny. Remind me when it is you leave for DC again?” he teased.

Kate pushed him into the bedroom with a smile and glanced back at Martha with affection before closing the door behind them to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
